J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of both the J. P. Beaumont series and the Joanna Brady Series. She has written 40 novels and she has more than 10 million copies of her books in print. Visit her Web site: JAJance.com.

Tales from the Moving Target Tour

This is Wednesday. I usually write the blog entries on Thursday. That’s not going to happen this week. Tomorrow I have a morning signing at Green Valley outside of Tucson. Then we have to drive to Phoenix–200 miles in all with the back and forth to Green Valley. During the drive, with Bill at the wheel, I have two interviews schedule. Then an evening event in Scottsdale. Do you see a time to sit down and blog in all that? Some of you are probably getting tired just reading about it.

Right this moment, I should be on my way to a Costco signing here in Tucson. That was canceled earlier today because the store failed to get the books delivered on time. I would like to think that the company will take responsibility for not having the books there rather than claiming it was some kind of temperamental diva turn on my part. But we’ll see. If they blame it on me, I’m sure one of my disappointed fans will be sure to let me know.

By the way, I’ve already heard from someone today who tried to get into yesterday’s event but arrived a few minutes late. She wrote to me complaining that I should let people know if I have a “drop dead time limit” for entry into events. The truth is, I don’t. When I realized the volunteers had closed the doors and were sending people away, I had them reopen them, but by then the woman in question had already left. Once I noticed the problem, I immediately corrected it, but when you’re the person on stage and speaking to 200 plus people, it’s not always possible to keep an eye on EVERY DETAIL!! I do my best.

Twice today I’ve been asked how I do what I do. The people asking the questing wisely refrained from adding the words “at your age” at the end of that question. And the answer is, I’m not entirely sure.

For one thing, I take my vitamins. That reminds me, those have to be sorted before I head out of town tomorrow morning because I take MY vitamins and I also make sure Bill takes HIS!

Bella is staying home this tour. She is not happy about it, but the pace makes it impossible to be dog-friendly. (I’m sure the folks at the Ritz in Phoenix will miss her when we show up sans puppy.) The people on the tour will miss her, too. I have a feeling she’ll sulk for a day or two, but eventually she’ll get over it and her miniature dachshund hunger strike will end. The truth is, at the end of a long, multi-event travel day, I need to have some time to rest rather than heading out to walk the doggie. (By the way, on our Bella travels, Bill is the Executive Dog Walker. That means he holds my purse, and I hold everything else.)

But part of the secret of surviving the killer pace of a book tour is to live in the present. It’s one of the things I learned from Al-Anon. You do the tour one day at a time. You make the signing you are doing right then the most important event without thinking of the next one or the one after that. Live in the now. Be in the now.

Once, years ago, when I was a fledgling author, I had the great good fortune of going to a group-grope signing–that’s what we call a multi author signing event in the trade. At this one, I happened to be seated at a table next to Ann Rule. There were loads of people in her line and very few in mine, so I had a chance to watch her and see a pro at work. The person standing in front of her, waiting for his or her book to be signed, seemed to be the only person in Ann Rule’s universe at that moment. She gave him or her the gift of her complete attention. It was a lesson I took to heart. Every person at a signing is important, and so is every signing. You never know which person in a particular group, large or small, is the one person you were destined to meet in that time and place.

So yes, I’m on tour, but along with the clothes I pack in my roll-aboard, I carry along another essential–the kind words and good wishes of my readers and fans. Their smiles and stories and comments gladden my heart and sustain me in my travels.